Guiding Principles and Policy Statements

Statement of Guiding Principles

The Library asserts its Fair Use rights (17 USC § 107*) as a non-profit educational institution while also respecting the intellectual property rights of copyright holders and abiding by all laws governing usage of copyrighted materials. The Library also seeks to educate the Trinity University community on issues related to copyright within higher education and digital communication, and will encourage the exercise of Fair Use and Open Access among all members of our institutional community.

Practical specifics

Instructors may stream audio/video content or place reproductions of copyrighted works on physical reserve, provided that such transmissions or reproductions:

a. are, in the professional judgment of the supervising instructor, directly relevant to the course’s subject matter and vital to his or her pedagogical goals;

b. are not excessive in amount or substantiality of content (see 3. under “Fair Use”, below);

c. are password-protected if streamed or placed on an electronic course management page;

d. are removed from all visibility and access upon the cessation of the course; ore. are in the public domain or licensed under specific terms that mitigate a., b., c., or d., above (eg, Creative Commons), or are the faculty member’s or institution’s own intellectual property.

When requested, library staff will assist faculty in making determinations on the above criteria (except a.).

* Fair Use (17 USC § 107)

A "four factors" test is used to determine if a proposed use is fair or not. These factors are:

Purpose of the usage -- Academic uses (education, criticism, commentary, etc.) are easier to defend as 'fair' than commercial uses. The new ARL Code of Best Practices suggests that eductional usage can be considered “transformative” and thus fair.

Nature of the copyrighted work -- Non-commercial or non-fiction/fact-based works (information) are more understandably used fairly than creative fiction (entertainment).

Amount and substantiality of the portion of the work used -- A transformative, academic work could conceivably use large portions of an existing copyrighted work for critical or analytical purposes, provided such copying is not excessive and does not effectively “gut” the work of its most significant, substantial content, however small a portion that may be.

Impact on the market value of the work -- Copying should never significantly reduce the rightsholder’s revenue on the work, nor should it ever effectively compete on the market for the work.

An important note about factor #1: The use of the material for academic purposes is not by itself a sufficient justification of Fair Use. The four factors interact with each other and must be considered together; no single one of them "trumps" the other three.

The Library is always available to assist any member of the Trinity community seeking guidance about copyright issues.

Reserve Guidelines & Procedures

Reserve Guidelines & Procedures

This page will assist you in preparing and
submitting materials to be placed on library reserve, whether print or
electronic: